Sep 23, 2016

Selling the Carrera S

Resolution is poor, using a cheapo camera, Audio is good.

The 993 is the car of a lifetime to me, glad I got to experience one before they hit the stratosphere. As a car guy of limited means, I will look back on these years with a teary fondness.

It's a driver, not a collector car. It just may be the nicest driver's car you'll ever see, at any mileage.

Rarity? My guess; there can't be more than 100 6sp Glacier white 993s in America.Excellence magazine puts 1998 C2S US production at 993 units (yes 993). How many were manual transmission or Glacier white is unknown. Keep in mind Silver and Black were hot in the 90's. But you can do your own estimate.Fortunately given the rarity, you can actually drive w/out concern of depreciation.

I'm not a fan of selling it, and am not a salesperson either. As you can imagine, i've had some strange conversations with odd people with this on the market. I think I ran off a few good folks out of paranoia. I think in the future i should lease cars, then I'll never need to sell them or trade them in. I will catalog the good and the bad of selling this car once this process is complete. I'm pretty feisty, so won't pull any punches when I write about it.

Notice the lamps and fogs are not yellowed. Commonly seen in less loved 993s

Craiglist: I went that route, but quickly found I was spending a lot of time talking to time wasters and dealers (who are also time wasters). Met a couple interesting guys, but mostly jackassess. So Craiglist is over for me. A more patient man could stand it, but I could not. Read my blog from 2011 here

eBay? I expected nothing to come from eBay, but it costs nothing to try it, and gave me more content for my blog.Bidding was actually good but not good enough. This was expected, you just cannot appreciate a car from a computer easily. I did find it validating that the bidding reached that high, sight unseen. What eBay did was generate interest, so now I've got to spend the next couple weeks meeting some of these interested people in person, and even pick two of them up at the airport, perhaps. I don't mind this part, as most are cool car guys, but logistically I cannot meet up with these people any time soon. I love waiting, arrggghhh! (BaT is next, since I've received no deposits from all these conversations)

Trades: I've turned down full and partial trades that equated to my needs. Some were pretty compelling. While I've declined these offers, I have enjoyed the photos sent to me.

It actually sold once too, I pulled all my adds and then the buyer couldn't get financed. He didn't know Porsches sell for way over KBB, so loans didn't work out for him like the bank promised. Great guy, most true Porsche people are actually.

What next if it sells? I'll use the empty garage to my advantage, Repainting and adding flooring etc. I've got two classic BMW motorcycles that need attention too. Then when the bikes are complete, I'll start thinking seriously about another car.

What car next? I won't ever be getting a car equal to this one. There are faster cars, but nothing is the "whole package" like a 993. Seats the kids, visceral, emotional and historical significance. Damn I'm going to miss this car! When I'm ready to buy one again, they'll be out of my price range I fear.

Idea's I have are much less expensive, but should feed my car guy needs somewhat. I miss projects and as this car's value increased I felt hinderance to changing things on it.

1. Alfa Spider QF from late '80s

2. Alfa 1750 GTV or 2000 GTV

3. E46 M3 Convertible (yes, common but great family sportscar)

4. Miata MX5 Mazdaspeed edition (these had turbochargers)

5. Lotus Elise SC (probably too prices, but I like em)

Leaning heavily toward numbers 2 and 3 above.

I'm in the first 30 seconds of above video.

I'm at the 24 minute mark.

No issues in the trademark Porsche problem areas:

1. no rust, no bubbles

2. no bad door hinges

3. no bad door locks

4. no service engine light

5. no smoke at startup

6. no cracked door pockets

Documentation is complete as indicated by a huge
binder of receipts:

Note that although multiple owners are found in the carfax reports, I'm only the 3rd that's actually driven the car over 2,500miles.

Condition and appearance of the
Glacier white never ceases to amaze people, including me. It's been
pictured in Spiel twice and HighGear magazine once. Porsche USA has
Tweeted photos of the car as well. Lastly, Griots Garage has asked for
some photos taken at their facility. I have not seen those pictures.

I was a “founding father” of 993 Fest,
which means I didn't do shit but did show up to the first two events Nathan
graciously hosted. So the cars been seen at that event in 2012 and
2013. So if you don't recall meeting me (I'm not too memorable) you may
recall the car. Or maybe you know someone who attended.

FAQs

SAIC (secondary
air inlet something or others) This car has had the dreaded SAIC light turn on twice, early
in my 5yrs of ownership, I had the code cleared w/an OBD scan tool. I then drove the car better, keeping the RPMs
up, and the service engine light never returned. I would be remiss if I didn’t ask if the
concern is the dash light or that you aren’t recirculating air for a few secs
upon startup? You don’t rebuild here,
though it is proposed by mechanics that serve bottled water. You wait till you are rebuilding for other
reasons. Typically the reason to rebuild
is valve guides, but even then I’ve seen Carreras with over 200,000 miles. Use good oil w/lot so zinc and these motor
are TOUGH. They don’t suffer cataclysmic failures, they smoke a little. Meanwhile there are many legitimate ways to
resolve this issue till you have your motor out. There are a couple electronic solutions, roto- rooter solutions and even a solvent
solution. So, when SAIC alerts eventually occur, don’t buy into rebuilding
just yet. I’m not going speak further
on this, there is plenty of talk on Rennlist and Pelican on the subject
already.

Owners: If you study the Carfax, it can be confusing. But study a little closer, you'll see only 2 owners other than me actually drove the car at all. Carfax, is a great asset for buyers, but also can paint a unflattering picture if read without a critical eye.

Loans? Yes you can get a loan on a collectible car. Try Pentagon Federal Credit union, they will loan perhaps 50% of this cars market value, so you'll need a bunch of cash too. they helped me buy it. They are open 24/7 which is amazing for a bank.

Does it burn oil? Not a drop….. Of course it burns oil, but not a
notable amount. I don’t track this kind of stuff like some maniacs
do. I’m aware if you burn over a quart/1000 miles you should be alarmed,
and I’m not alarmed.

Have I tracked or raced the car? I have not, nor did Kelly. But It’s done
over 150mph more than once, shame on me. I've had my fill of track days,
and would track a cheaper car but not this one. I have done a DE day, to
familiarize myself, but this was low speed stuff for 4 hours.

Storage, I’ve had it under a spandex cover in a heated garage since
I bought it. Not an operating room, just a regular garage with a
couple space heaters. I now use a bunch of packing blankets too, since
the kid wanders about with sharp objects.

Accidents? Hell no, It has a clear Carfax. I did bump a
fender in the garage, so that fender was repaired with paintless dent repair.
Then it ended up requiring paint (no filler). Apex Autobody in
Denver did the work. They are a premier shop featured on the cover of
Excellence recently.

Photo credit, Rennlister John Nasser

The last Cars and Coffee at the Boulder/Lafayette location. Sad they are moving this event.